Analysts speculate that consumers held off on buying the iPhone 4 in anticipation of the launch of the iPhone 4s, which went on sale last weekend.

Chip giant, Intel, beat third-quarter sales and profit forecasts and guided fourth-quarter estimates higher. The record results defy talk that the rise of tablets is sending personal computers to the graveyard.

Earnings and revenue at Yahoo! also exceeded forecasts and its outlook was above Wall Street consensus.

Coca-Cola beat targets thanks to strong global sales, and Goldman Sachs posted a quarterly loss – only the second time since going public.

Bank of America managed to swing to a profit thanks to asset sales. Bank stocks were higher but worries remain, says David Hilder of Susquehanna Financial Group.

“There are huge concerns about whether Europe will be able to resolve its government debt problems and whether Europe will be able to recapitalize its banks. If for some reason Europe fails to do that, then there are probably broader implications on the global economy, the U.S. economy and U.S. capital markets.”

In Europe, there’s more possible fallout from the debt crisis. Moody’s has put France on watch that it could lose its AAA-credit rating. And Standard & Poor’s downgraded Italian banks and finance companies.

In broader economic news, U.S. producer prices rose at their fastest pace in five months, while homebuilder sentiment rose in October to nearly a 1-1/2 year high.

Turning to the markets – Wall Street took back just about all of the losses seen the day before.

While in Europe, stocks crept higher in Germany, but were lower in France and the U.K.

Machine-learning algorithms are cleverly downloading faces from social media pages like Facebook… and then uploading those faces to unsavory videos. This is the latest example of technology moving faster than our moral ability to use it.

One mystery trader just rolled over a massive volatility bet that could pay out $260 million if he’s right again. Can you blame him? He’s got seven-plus years of the bull trend on his side. Well, none of that means squat if you’re Goldman Sachs.